Protective Effects of Hydrogen against Low-Dose Long-Term Radiation-Induced Damage to the Behavioral Performances, Hematopoietic System, Genital System, and Splenic Lymphocytes in Mice.

Abstract

This mouse study examined whether molecular hydrogen (H₂) could mitigate multi-system damage arising from low-dose long-term gamma radiation (LDLTR). Animals received whole-body irradiation at doses of 0.1, 0.5, 1.0, or 2.0 Gy, and a comprehensive battery of assessments was conducted after the final exposure: body mass monitoring, forced swim test, open field test, chromosome aberration analysis, peripheral blood cell counts, sperm abnormality evaluation, lymphocyte transformation test, and histopathological examination. Across all dose levels, H₂-treated mice showed statistically significant improvements compared with radiation-only controls in behavioral performance, hematopoietic indices, reproductive parameters, and splenic lymphocyte function, indicating that H₂ exerts broad protective effects against LDLTR-induced injury in multiple biological systems.

Mechanism

H₂ is proposed to reduce radiation-induced oxidative stress and chromosomal aberrations, thereby attenuating functional impairment across hematopoietic, reproductive, and immune compartments following chronic low-dose gamma irradiation.